We are often entertained with anecdotes of football’s glory years. Stadiums packed with 35,000 swaying fans, waiting with anticipation for the battle. Back then; it wasn’t slicked back hair, more full flocks of rockstar imitation or mullet overload.
But, it’s more than vanity that has changed. A flick through any newspaper or website usually depicts modern footballers are some alien life form, one devoid of any social responsibility or moral grounding.
Today players are labelled with the same tag because of the actions of some of their peers. We read about the latest assault case or drunken night and wrongly assume that those responsible represent the entire profession. What about the David Beckhams, Didier Drogbas, Dirk Kuyts and Nwankwo Kanus of the world?
They are not all liked on the pitch, but off it they have shown that fame and fortune can be fused with responsibility and philanthropy. Beckham is a UNICEF ambassador and has used his own charity to help disabled children.
Meanwhile, The Didier Drogba Foundation provides financial and material support to people in Africa. In March 2012 he held a charity ball, which raised over £250,000. Kuyt and Kanu have similar altruistic ventures, using their positions of power for a wider purpose.
Without their elevation into role models that the modern pitch affords, would they have the same effect? Comic Relief and Children In Need use the methodology that extravaganza filled events work best with those in the public eye. Why should football be any different?
Another triumph is the transformation of the stage, the Colosseum where fashionable gladiators thrust and strike for a baying public. Since Hillsborough so much has changed. We do not have to push and pull our way into the smallest spot on the terraces and consequently we see more mothers and children in the stands. Gone are the days of fans being spat on as second class citizens.
This is of course partly because of the brilliant work done to destroy the cancerous hooliganism problem.
Whereas before bloody noses and facial cuts were the norm, now the most severe injury is a battered ego. That we can attend concerts and events without fear of injury is to be expected in the 21st century, but in football it should be applauded.
And despite what seems like an influx of race related arguments, the game is now more inclusive. While some bigots remain, we no longer follow an institutionally racist sport. We have players from Burundi, Oman and Mali in the Premier League. That should not be ignored.
While the modern game does have shortcomings, a more inquisitive look reveals there is much to admire.
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